The synchronicities around here... Just been palavering with Patrons and others about taking up King Philip’s War as a major podcast series this fall. Pretty much have determined to do it, and lined up some research materials just a couple of nights ago. Then this morning I see that the old, fraught history of the Plymouth colony and the … [Read more...] about Trouble At Plimoth Plantation

Back in the early 1990s, George Lucas conceived of something breathtakingly ambitious: He’d educate young people on the history of the 20th century by entertaining them with the adventures of a young Indiana Jones. The series followed the intrepid budding archaeologist from childhood through young adulthood, meeting a wide and wild range of major … [Read more...] about The Treasure Of Indiana Jones

The new episode of the Frontier Partisans Podcast — Once Upon A Time in Los Angeles — is up. You can access it here or on most podcasting platforms. This one centers around that most piratical of Mountain Men, Thomas ‘Pegleg’ Smith. I don’t call him piratical just because of his Long John Silver appendage — he really would have fit right in … [Read more...] about A Pegleg Podcast

Reader Thanatos asked that I weigh in on Prey, and I try to satisfy the readership around this here campfire. Thanatos had some issues with the sci-fi/horror film that dropped on Hulu on August 5. Thanatos is much more versed in Predator lore than I am, so I can’t really offer much on how it rates in the franchise that started back in 1987 with the … [Read more...] about Let Us ‘Prey’

The Terminal List took a Daniel Winkler tomahawk to the critics. From Variety: Per Nielsen, Amazon Prime Video’s Chris Pratt-led thriller series “The Terminal List” was watched for 1.6 billion minutes during the July 4-10 viewing window, its first full week of availability after premiering on July 1. The series took the No. 2 position on Nielsen’s … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — Taking A Tomahawk To The Critics

His feet are light and nimble. He never sleeps. He says that he will never die. He dances in light and in shadow and he is a great favorite. He never sleeps, the judge. He is dancing, dancing. He says that he will never die. — Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian John McAfee fascinates me. I posted on his weird and wild world back in 2017, noting … [Read more...] about Running With The Devil

I’ve always been intrigued by the story of Thomas Tew. The Rhode Island privateer-turned-pirate was one of the most successful pirates in history (according to a Forbes magazine ranking, he was the third-richest pirate in history with a haul worth $103 million, 2010 dollars). I think my interest in Tew was sparked by a great old Howard Pyle … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — Pirates, Witches & Blood Of My Blood

Excellent news out of South Africa: The long-awaited Shaka Ilembe is in production and slated for release in 2023. From Africa.com: MultiChoice and Bomb Productions are proud to announce that production on the epic drama series, Shaka Ilembe, has commenced and is currently filming in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, providing jobs for over … [Read more...] about Shaka Ilembe

From UT News: About 37,000 years ago, a mother mammoth and her calf met their end at the hands of human beings. Bones from the butchering site record how humans shaped pieces of their long bones into disposable blades to break down their carcasses, and rendered their fat over a fire. But a key detail sets this site apart from others from this … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — Ancient Frontiers

“Let me tell you a story about a Spaniard named Vasquez. A few weeks ago he staggers into a tavern in Port Royal. Takes a seat next to an English merchant captain. Vasquez, it turns out, is dying. Bleeding to death from a knife wound to the belly. The knife wound was courtesy of his former employer, La Casa del Contratación, in Seville.” — … [Read more...] about ‘Let Me Tell You A Story About A Spaniard Named Vasquez’